The Killer Review
The Killer is based on the French comic book series of the same name. The film follows Michael Fassbender as “The Killer” he is a paid assassin who is very good at his job. Except he has a slip-up which has rippling consequences.
The film is told mainly through voice-over as we are set right inside the head of Fassbender’s Killer. They say voice-over is a crutch, you should show not tell, but this film would’ve been impossible without VO.
Without it, this would be Fassbender staring blankly for two hours. Instead, we’re forced to see things from his perspective and he earns our empathy because the audience is sitting in his head. It also makes every time we leave his perspective terrifying.
He stares blankly at the person who is talking, never giving a reaction, cold and calculating. The story never gets messy because we do not go fully into another character’s POV, rather every confrontation is shown in the third person. Still makes Fassbender’s Killer terrifying.
It’s a welcome return for Michael who has been racing since 2017. This obviously put his film career on hold. He had three films released in 2017 and only one in 2019, that one being an X-Men film. Of course that was probably a contractual obligation, which is why it’s his only film in a five-year span.
He is excellent in his return. He is physically imposing as well as stoically frightening. But through his voice-over work, he brings levity and moments of humor. It’s a perfect performance and I hope he works with Fincher in the future.
Speaking of Da Finch Man, Fincher makes another great film. This time, more than any other film, he has made a film about himself. I can picture Fincher sitting behind the monitor listening to The Smiths and monitoring his heart rate as he watches a scene play out.
Then after he yells cut he meticulously goes over every minute detail in the scene to make sure it is perfect. Perfection is Fincher’s game, so of course he’d be attracted to a story about a man who is trying to be perfect in his work but things keep going wrong.
Except for Fincher, instead of murder getting in the way, it is studio execs who keep screwing up David’s perfect plan. Fincher loves showing the procedure, it’s probably what attracted him to Zodiac and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. This time it is someone doing their job, rather than investigating.
Fincher is partnered with his Se7en collaborator Andrew Keven Walker who wrote this script and made his name with the Se7en script. Something about their collabs work, whether it is the subject matter or their collective interest in the procedure, whatever it is it works.
In only his fourth film Cinematographer Erik Messerschmidt makes boredom look cool. It’s hard to stylize a man sitting in a chair waiting, but Erik can. He is a DP to watch in the future.
It may not be heavy-hitting material like others in Fincher’s filmography, but he crafts a slick and engaging 120-minute thriller. It’s currently showing in theaters and will premiere on Netflix on November 10th.
4.5/5 Stars
